


Shame On You

by PagetPaulson



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-26
Updated: 2014-06-25
Packaged: 2018-02-06 06:46:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1848364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PagetPaulson/pseuds/PagetPaulson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten year old Emily sits alone in the corner, dried tears marking her cheeks until someone comes to her rescue.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Nothing about this day was different from the one before, or the one before that. The skies were grey and the wind heavy, the food in the orphanage barely edible and the furnace broken.

Emily Prentiss was only ten years old. The brunette girl was left on the orphanage's doorstep right after she had learned to walk, her single father no longer willing to take care of her or her older brother. The orphanage's owner, Jessica Higgins, had taken them in and treated them just as she treated the other children in her care. Horribly. No child got a new dress or pair of pants until the end of the year; one item for each child. They were fed breakfast and dinner twelve hours apart, an apple for a snack during the afternoon if all of the chores had been done.

The ten year old girl had made no friends during her stay at the orphanage; all she had was her brother and the note her mother had written the children just before she had died. She stayed as quiet as needed, did everything she was told and tried her hardest to stay out of trouble to not have to get a talking to by Ms. Higgins.

Emily sat firmly on the orphanage's front stoop in her best dress, having only one tear near her shoulder, with a book in her lap. Reading was her favorite thing to do. She squinted as she tried to read the words on the page as her midnight hair blew before her eyes. "Anybody could have reached the..."

"Hilltop."

The brunette girl looked up from the book to see a robust little girl standing at her side. "Hi."

"Hi!" The hazel eyed girl smiled down to the ten year old, plopping down onto the steps just beside her. "I'm Penelope."

Emily gave a small nod of the head before turning back to the book in her lap.

Penelope frowned. "Now you tell me your name."

The brunette turned back to the strange girl at her side. "Why?"

"So we can be friends, silly."

Emily gave a small shrug, her small hands tightening around the book in her lap. "I don't have any friends."

Penelope pouted. "Why not?"

Emily bit her lip as she shrugged. "I don't know."

"You should! You're really pretty."

The ten year old felt herself smile at the blond. "Thank you!"

Ashton Prentiss opened up the orphanage's door and peeked out into the gloomy weather, his dark eyes immediately hitting his little sister that sat on the front stoop. "Emily get back in here! Its almost supper."

Emily turned her head. "I'm reading, Ash."

"You want Ms. Higgins to come looking for you?"

The brunette girl huffed before standing from her spot, dusting the dirt from her dress. "Ok I'm coming." She looked to her new friend with sad eyes and shrugged. "Bye Penelope."

Penelope stood from her seat. "Will you be here tomorrow?"

"I think so."

The blond smiled wide. "Ok! I live on the next block. Bye Emily!"

Emily felt herself smile, waving to the girl who ran from the stoop. "Bye!"

"Emily Lucille Prentiss!"

The brunette girl refrained from rolling her eyes before turning around, looking up to the busty redheaded woman standing in the doorway in her nightgown and robe. "Hi Ms. Higgins."

The thirty year old growled, pulling the small child back inside the orphanage by the arm. "How many times do I have to tell you not to go out until your chores are finished?"

Emily bit her lip, letting the woman drag her into her office. "I wanted to finish my book."

Ms. Higgins rolled her eyes, throwing the ten year old up against the wall and giving her a firm slap to her butt.

The brunette girl's eyes immediately filled with tears. "Ow Ms Higgins! That hurt!"

Another smack.

Emily let out a cry, dropping her book as the redheaded woman pushed her out of the office and onto the steps of the foyer.

"Don't you forget again!"

Emily's lips quivered as familiar hands helped her up off the floor. She let her older brother press a kiss to the crown of her head and dust her off, her hands grasping his tight as they walked slowly into the mess hall to join the other children.


	2. Chapter 2

Emily wiped her Charlie Brown cheeks clean of tears, her big doe eyes looking down to the oatmeal before her before gently picking up the spoon beside her bowl.

"Hi there Em."

The brunette looked up, her child-like gaze landing on the sixteen year old boy that took a seat beside her. "Hi Dennis."

Dennis Alexander, sixteen years of age, had been living in the orphanage for three years. Every day he'd sit beside the beautiful little girl at breakfast and dinner, his hand settling over her always bare knee as they ate. "I heard you in Ms. Higgins' office."

Emily looked back to her dinner and slowly nodded her head.

"Did it hurt?"

The ten year old bit her lip, swallowing her oatmeal slowly as the teenager's hand smoothed over the skin of her knee. "Yes."

Dennis tried his best to hide his smile. "What did she use?"

"Her hand." Her eyebrows furrowed at the feeling of the blond boy's hand cupping around her knee, his thumb almost digging into her skin. "You're hurting me."

Dennis let out a small laugh, scooting closer to the younger girl. "It can't hurt that much, Em." He bent down and burried his nose in her dark hair. "You've gone through much worse, haven't you?"

Emily's eyes closed tight as the older boy was yanked away from her, her ears trying to block out the sound of him falling to the floor of the mess hall. She sniffled as her brother sat down at her side, taking another spoonful of oatmeal after he pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I don't like him."

Ashton nodded his head. "I know, Em."

The brunette girl pouted as she looked down to her dinner. "He scares me."

Ashton wrapped his arm around the ten year old, holding her to his side and using his free hand to spoon at the oatmeal in his own bowl. "Don't worry, Em. I'm here for you."

"I know." Emily leaned up and kissed her brother's chin. She quickly swallowed another spoonful of oatmeal before her eyes looked across the room, her gaze landing on a small blond girl who was staring towards her and her brother with her crystal blue eyes. Her lips immediately formed a frown when the blond looked away, and she tapped on her brother's leg. "Who's that?"

The thirteen year old boy looked up from his dinner, following his sister's eyes to the young girl who sat in between to large boys, her frail looking body covered by an oversized sweatshirt, her blond hair pulled up into a messy ponytail. "I think that's Jenny."

Emily's head tilted. "I don't think I know her."

"She only got here yesterday. She's pretty nice, you should talk to her."

The brunette girl bit her lip. "But I have a friend now."

Ashton frowned. "That girl out front?"

Emily glared up to her brother. "Her name is Penelope and she's nice. She's my first friend."

"First, Em. Not only."

An hour later, Emily pulled her nightgown over her head, her dark hair sticking up around her head. Because boys and girls in the orphanage slept in different rooms, the ten year old couldn't sleep with the comfort of her older brother's presence with her.

Emily pulled back her cottom blanket and quickly climbed up into her bed, her ebony eyes glancing over to the younger girl in the once empty bed beside her. "My brother said your name was Jenny."

The blond girl peeked out from under her small blanket and nodded. "Hi."

"I'm Emily." The ten year old's forehead scrunched. "You look cold."

Jennifer bit her lip. "Kind of."

Emily smiled to the younger girl and scooted over in her bed. "It gets chilly here. Wanna sleep with me?"

The blond quickly sat up in her bed. "Really?"

Emily nodded her head. "Uh huh. We'll be a lot warmer."

Jenniifer quickly scampered from her bed to the one that sit right beside the big window that looked down on the city, sliding in beside her new friend and laying her blanket over the older girl's. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The brunette laid down beside the younger girl and quickly shut her eyes, a smile spreading over her face as she thought about the two new friends she had made that day.


	3. Chapter 3

The brunette girl sat up in her creaky bed, her tired brown eyes looking to the small girl beside her slipping her sweatshirt from her body. She opened her mouth to let out a big yawn, her tiny fists rubbing the crust from her eyes. "Morning."

Jennifer turned around, looking up to the older girl that sat in her bed, feeling the cold hit her barely covered body. "Hi Emily."

Emily frowned as she watched the blond look around her bed, shifting through the backpack that sat on top of her pillow. "Watcha lookin' for?"

"Clothes."

Emily gently nodded her head.

Jennifer bit her lip as she riffled through the few things she had taken from her house, her blue eyes saddening as the realization hit her.

"What's wrong?"

The blond looked to her new friend, her chin trembling. "Ms. Higgins took my clothes to inspect."

Emily quickly slid off of her bed, leaning towards the younger girl and pressing a kiss to her cheek to make her tears disappear, just like her brother would do for her. "I have a dress for you."

"You do?"

The older girl nodded her head, slipping a ratty blue dress from under her bed and handing it the the blond. "I got four more if you need one. Ms. Higgins takes long with clothes."

Jennifer smiled gratefully to the brunette girl before slipping into the thin dress, waiting for her new friend to change into one of her own before wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug. "Thank you!"

Emily giggled into the younger girl's hair. "You're welcome." She looked over the blonde's shoulder and watched as the other girls began running around the room and making their beds, and she quickly pulled away from her friend. "We gotta hurry."

Jennifer frowned, watching as her friend shoved everything under her bed and quickly did her best to make her bed. "What's wrong?"

"Roll call. Make your bed!"

The blond quickly spun on her heels and threw her blanket over the pillow she hadn't used.

The girls of the Rowood Orphanage turned their heads and straightened their shoulders as the room door flew open, watching with fright as Ms. Higgins stepped in wearing some purple lingerie poorly hidden by the robe over it. "Good morning children."

"Good morning Ms. Higgins!"

Jessica Higgins wickedly smiled to the young children, walking through the maze of the beds to get to her favorite little children that lived with her. She gazed down to the ten year old before her, bending down to be at her level. "Good morning Miss Prentiss."

Emily did her best to subtly back away from the older woman. "Good morning Ms. Higgins."

The owner of the building scowled, picking up her hand and slapping the brunette girl firm across the cheek. "You look at me when you speak!"

Jennifer's jaw dropped, watching as her friend's eyes immediately filled with tears, her voice cracking as she let out a cry. She quickly pushed the woman away from her friend, angry tears rolling down her cheeks. "Get away from her!"

Ms. Higgins glared down to the pair of girls, watching as the blond kissed away Emily's tears. "Jennifer Jareau!"

"Don't you touch her!"

She felt her anger boil inside of her. Her hands hastily grabbed fistfuls of both girls' hair and pulled them along as she made her way out of the room and down the stairs, shoving both into her office. "Get up off the floor!"

Emily sniffled, helping her friend up off of the ground before bending down to wipe the dirt off of both of their knees.

"Now you two sit in here until its time for chores. You get no breakfast today."

Jennifer winced at the sound of the slam. "I'm sorry, Emily."

"Why?"

The blond shrugged her shoulders, sitting herself on the cold floor. "I got us in trouble."

Emily quickly shook her head, finding a spot next to the younger girl and grabbing onto her hand. "No you didn't. I don't get breakfast a lot. She doesn't really like me."

"Why not?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders before leaning forward to once again kiss the blonde's cheek. "You ok?"

Jennifer gently nodded her head.

The brunette's eyes sparkled when she saw the book she had dropped yesterday lying on the floor. She quickly scrambled across the floor to get it, turning back to her friend with a smile. "Want me to read for you?"

Jennifer felt herself smile before she nodded again.

Emily took the smaller girl into her hug before opening the book in her lap, her fingers running through her friend's golden hair.


	4. Chapter 4

Emily held tight onto her new friend's hand as they made their way through the shabby halls of the orphanage, finally given the right to leave Ms. Higgins' office after a two hour timeout. She gently pulled the blond with her through the girls' bedroom and out onto the fire escape. "Today's wash day, so you're gonna do it with me ok?"

The younger girl nodded her head, squinting as the smallest amount of sun peeking through the clouds invaded her line of sight. "Only us?"

"No, but maybe only three others. Maybe more, I don't know."

Jennifer reluctantly let go of her friend's hand, watching as the brunette girl went over to the large bin and quickly took a shirt from the messy pile of clothing and submerged it in the soapy water. "Do I wash with you?"

Emily shook her head, soaping up her hands before grabbing onto the shirt that had sunk to the bottom of the bin. "No. I wash, and you hang them to dry ok? There's some pins and stuff over near the door. You gotta hang them on the line."

Jennifer's eyebrow arched. "Its kinda short."

"Well if its all filled, you gotta go down the stairs and hang em' on the other line." Emily run out the small shirt in her hands before handing it off to the blond girl. "Here you go." She smiled as she watched the blond reach up on her toes and hang the soaked shirt up on the line. "Good!"

The younger girl felt herself blush before taking another piece of clothing the brunette gave her. "Thank you."

The girls worked that way for another few minutes before a couple more children made their way out onto the fire escape to join them.

Emily's body froze as a warm hand gently laid on the back of her bare neck, fingers sliding past the dark tendrils of hair that sit around her shoulders. Her eyes didn't even need to look up from the warm water to know who the hand belonged to. "Hi Dennis."

The sixteen year old smiled down to the brunette girl beside him, running his hand from the back of her long neck and down her bent back. "Hey Em. I missed you at breakfast this morning."

Emily slowly nodded her head, continuing on with the laundry she was doing. "I'm sorry."

"Nah honey don't be sorry. I was just saying, that's all."

Jennifer walked back over towards her friend with a new clothespin in hand, her blue eyes looking over to the older girl. She frowned when she saw two older boys and one older girl standing around the brunette, and she quickly swerved through them to get back over to Emily. "Who are they?"

The older girl looked up from her work. "Jenny, this is Dennis. I eat with him sometimes."

Dennis shook his head. "All the time, Em."

Emily slowly nodded her head at the correction, doing her best to smile over to the younger girl. "All the time."

Dennis looked up to the blond little girl with a smile. "You're a pretty little one, Jenny. How old are you?"

Jennifer bit her lip. "Nine."

"Only a little younger than Em." The sixteen year old shook his head. "And almost as pretty, too."

Emily took in a deep breath before handing a pair of socks over to the blond before her. "Here Jenny."

Jennifer pointed behind her to the metal staircase. "I gotta go downstairs to hang them."

Emily smiled gently to her new friend, knowing that the younger girl was hesitant to leave her alone. "Its ok. I'll be here."

Dennis waited until the bue eyed girl disappeared from his line of sight before he let his hand drift from the brunette's back down to cup her butt. "You look so pretty today, Em."

The ten year old felt her breath quicken as the older boy rubbed his fingers along the hem of her dress that fell just below her butt. "Thank you." She glanced up to see the faces of Dennis' friends around her, taking in the smiles they were sending her. "I didn't know you were on was today."

"Oh I'm not." He grinned against her dark head of hair, his lips pressing against her pale little ear. "I just wanted to see you."

Emily's chin began to tremble as the sixteen year old's hand snuck under her dress, his finger dancing over the thin material of her underwear. She quickly shook her head, tears forming in her eyes as Dennis' hand started to creep under her underwear. "Stop it."

Dennis let out a small pout. "Come on, Em. All you have to do it stay quiet."

The brunette vigorously shook her head, pulling away from the older boy and falling on her butt. "Stop it!"

"Hey now!" Dennis' eyes darkened as the ten year old quickly scurried away, backing herself into a corner as she tried to get away. He knelt over to brunette girl, shoving his hand up her dress as she cried. "I told you to be quiet!"

Jennifer hurriedly ran up the steps when she heard the screams of her new friend. She quickly pushed the teenagers away from Emily before shoving Dennis off of her. The blond quickly reached down and pulled her sobbing friend up off the ground, hugging her to her small body. "Are you ok?"

Emily nodded hastily against her friend's shoulder.

The blond glared over to the sixteen year old before punching him just below the belt. "Don't touch her!"

The older girl that stood in betweeen the other boys glared over to the upset children before her. "You think you can do that?" She stepped over Dennis who lay on the floor in pain and shoved the little blond into the wash bucket.

Emily's puffy eyes widened as she watched her friend land in the big bucket, the water sloshing over the sides. "Jenny!" She quickly jumped in after her and helped her get back above the water, her hand hitting her hard on the back as she coughed up the soapy water. "Are you ok?"

Both girls climbed out of the bucket as soon as the teens ran away, holding one another tight just as the door swung open. "Girls!"

Jennifer looked up in fright at the sight of Ms. Higgins in the doorway. "Hi."

"Hi? Look at what you did!"

Emily nervously bit her lip before picking up a big blanket from the dirty pile, glancing over to her friend. "Don't be scared. Follow me, ok?"

Ms. Higgins glared to the girls before her. "Listen to me!"

Emily grabbed onto the younger girl's hand and pulled her down the fire escape stairs, the blanket tight in her hands. "Run!"


	5. Chapter 5

Jennifer shivered as her friend pulled her through the busy city streets, her wet dress plastered to her tiny body. Emily had grabbed a big blanket, meant for Ms. Higgins' bed, and quickly wrapped it around their bodies once they made it down the fire escape. "Emily, it's really cold."

The older girl nodded her head, finally sitting them down between two big grabage cans. "I know." She pressed a gentle kiss to the blonde's head before handing her a new dress and a sweater. "Change into those."

Jennifer's brow furrowed, taking the clothing from her friend's hand. "Where did you get these?"

Emily smiled. "I took it from the dirty pile. I hid it with the blanket so Ms. Higgins couldn't see them. Lucky I didn't drop em'."

The nine year old smiled wide before pressing a huge kiss to her friend's lips. "Thank you!"

Emily's eyes widened in surprise, watching the young blond quickly strip out of her wet clothes and into the dry ones. No one had ever kissed her before. Well, Dennis had tried once, but she had quickly turned her head so he had gotten her cheek instead. She had seen her brother kiss one of the girls in the orphanage, Marissa was her name, and they had done it more than once. But when Emily had asked him about it, curious to an extent about why they did it, Ashton had blown her off, telling her she was too young to understand.

Jennifer sat back down beside her new friend and smiled, moving the ebony hair from her eyes. "You ok?"

Emily bit her lip before she nodded.

The blond slowly moved to sit in front of the older girl, her crystal eyes looking into the midnight ones that stared back at her. "Did you bring one for you?"

The ten year old slowly nodded her head, grabbing the oversized sweatshirt beside her.

Jennifer quickly stood and helped the older girl up onto her feet. She took the sweatshirt from the brunette and waited until the other girl was completely undressed, only in her underwear, before helping slip the large sweatshirt over her friend's head. "Good?"

Emily smiled. "Yeah, thank you." She shifted slightly at the uncomfortable feeling of her wet undies riding up.

"What's wrong?"

Emily slowly shook her head before reaching down, hooking her thumbs in the soaking underwear and pulling them down her legs.

Jennifer's blue eyes widened as she watched her friend throw the butterfly undies into the trashcan. "What are you doing?"

"Can't walk around with wet underwear, Jenny. I could catch a cold."

The blond shifted slightly, feeling her own underwear stick to her body. "Should I take mine off too?"

The ten year old quickly nodded, kneeling before the younger orphan and letting her brace herself on her shoulders before she reached up under the blonde's dress and freed her from the wet material. "There you go."

Jennifer smiled to her friend, watching happily as she threw the scrap into the garbage. "Thank you!"

Emily quickly sat back down on the ground and wrapped the blanket around her shoulders, holding it open so the younger girl could squeeze in beside her. "You hungry?"

The nine year old vigorously nodded her head.

Emily reached behind the garbage pail beside her and stuck her hand into a small, crinkled paper bag and pulled out two small oranges. "Here you go."

"How'd you know those were here?"

The brunette girl gently shrugged her shoulders, her small fingers peeling at the skin of the orange. "I ran away twice before and this is where I came. I brought some food just in case I did it again."

Jennifer watched as her friend brought the orange up to her mouth and bit into it. "Can I ask you something, Emily?"

The ten year old quickly nodded her head. "Ok."

Jennifer softly bit down into her lip, her fingers dancing lightly over the orange in her hands. "How long have you lived in the orphanage?"

Emily's small body vibrated with a heavy laugh. "Too long."

"Has it always been so bad?"

The brunette stilled slightly, thinking for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't think so. It was ok until I turned five. That's when Ms. Higgins made me start working."

Jennifer slowly nodded. "Can I ask another question?"

Emily smiled before snuggling closer to her friend. "Go ahead."

The blond looked to the girl at her side, setting her chin on the brunette's head that lay on her shoulder. "Was this the first time Dennis did that?"

The older orphan froze, her eyes casting down to the orange in her hand. "No."

"When was the first time?"

Emily's small fingers ripped off a piece of her orange before bringing it to her mouth. "When I was eight. I was in the bath with Missy, and right when she left he came in." She kept her eyes downcast as she shrugged. "He didn't touch me or nothing. Just watched me wash up, ya' know?"

Jennifer pressed a kiss to her friend's head. "I'm sorry."

Emily felt her chin tremble, her face hiding in the crook of the younger girl's neck. "He comes into my dreams."

"Was he there last night?" The blond smiled when Emily shook her head. "Then I'll sleep with you every night."

The older orphan sniffled against her friend's shoulder. "Promise?"

Jennifer smiled wide. "Promise."


	6. Chapter 6

The girls had hid out in the streets of Washington D.C for two days, eating the last three oranges that Emily had hidden and sleeping against the garbage cans with the blanket wrapped around them before the police had found them. Ms. Higgins had called the police department three hours after the girls had run off, telling them that she had taken another roll call just before dinner and didn't hear their voices respond when she called their names.

The redheaded woman had punished them the moment they stepped in the door and the officers left the building. She had made the girls strip down before she spanked them, making sure it would hurt like hell for both of them if they tried to sit down.

The girls were then sent to the isolation room in the orphanage, which was basically the cellar. No beds, no heater and a lot of bugs and rats. They were forced to spend two weeks down there with no contact from the other orphans, no matter how much they wanted it. They had even heard Ashton banging in the early morning the first day down there, but that was quickly silenced.

Emily had made her own little bed near the food shelves, using a bag of sugar for a pillow and an old potato sack for a blanket. She had been quiet, not talking to her blond friend unless they needed to take a bathroom break, using the broken down sink as a toilet. She was upset that they had to go back; ashamed that she couldn't save Jennifer from what had haunted her dreams every night.

The blond nine year old frowned at her friend from her spot on the creaky staircase, watching as she unwove the threads that held together her makeshift blanket. "Emily?" She huffed as the brunette continued to stare towards the floor. "Why won't you talk to me?"

Emily looked up and gave a shrug.

Jennifer let her crystal eyes narrow on the older girl. "Talk to me!"

The brunette finally let her gaze go up and land on the other orphan. "If you yell, Ms. Higgins will get mad."

Jennifer quickly stomped over to her friend and knelt before her, pushing at her shoulders as tears entered her eyes. "I don't care! You won't talk to me or look at me or sleep with me anymore!" She sniffled at the bewildered look on the other girl's face. "Why Emily? You said you would sleep with me. I promised I would make Dennis go away but you won't let me."

The ten year old watched as her friend's pouting lips quivered. "Jenny..."

"I miss you."

Emily felt tears sting her eyes as she slowly nodded her head, getting on her knees and taking her friend into a big hug. "I miss you too."

Jennifer hugged the older girl back just as tight, peppering kisses to the ivory skin of her friend's cheek. "Why wouldn't you talk to me?"

"'Cause I couldn't get you away. I tried really hard, I promise! But it didn't work, Jenny. It didn't." Emily's chin trembled as she hid her face in the younger girl's neck. "It was a lot harder than I thought. Ms. Higgins must like you more."

The nine year old frowned, pulling back to look at her friend. "What do you mean?"

Emily's eyes closed gently as the blond softly kissed away all her tears. "Last time I ran away, it took her three whole days to notice I wasn't here!"

Jennifer's gaze saddened, taking her friend back into her arms. "Please stop crying, Emily."

"She didn't even care!"

The blond looked sharply into the older girl's eyes, her hands cupping the ten year old's Charlie Brown cheeks warmly. "Ashton cares, and you know I care too. You know that?"

Emily let out a watery smile, feeling another kiss be pressed to her lips by the younger girl. "I know." Her eyes immediately lit up, her smile widening as she looked to her friend. "So does Penelope!"

"Who?"

Emily laughed before sitting them down near her bed, her hands grasping the blonde's. "I met her outside a couple weeks ago. She's real nice and has a really big smile!"

Jennifer smiled to the older girl. "Cool!"

"You could meet her!"

The blond quickly nodded her head. "Really?"

Emily scooted closer to her friend, her fingers intertwining with Jennifer's. "I promise."


	7. Chapter 7

Emily gave one last smile, if you could call it that, to her hazel eyed friend before waving goodbye and closing the window beside her bed. Penelope had come over to say she was sorry that the brunette was going to be alone again; no friends to hug and no one to talk to. The blond was moving to the other side of the city to stay with her grandmother who had developed a severe type of uterine cancer, and if lucky, the girls could seldom see each other.

Emily sat herself down on her rickety bed, her legs crisscrossing with her blanket wrapped around her waist. Her dark eyes watched as the other orphan girls got ready to head down to the mess hall for dinner. She just shook her head.

Who could eat?

The ten year old's stomach had stayed empty for the past four days, ever since Jennifer had been adopted.

A pair of brunettes had come in looking for a new addition to their already massive family; four children under the age of ten. Who wanted five whole kids?

Jennifer immediately caught their attention. She had been sitting on the staircase and tying her shoes, her eyes narrowing in determination to finally tie the double knot that Ashton had taught her.

Five minutes later Emily came skipping down the steps, excited for breakfast with her best friend. She frowned when no blond head entered her sight, and her eyes quickly shot over to Ms. Higgins' open door. Her best friend was hugging a woman who's head was covered by a fancy black hat.

The Mullers. That was their name. Jennifer Muller? Emily didn't think it fit her blond friend at all. When the nine year old finally came out of the office, suitcase in hand, her crystal eyes watered. She had to leave the brunette who had slept beside her every night and kissed her tears away.

The girls cried in one another's embrace for the longest time, wishing that they could stay together.

The Mullers had even offered to take the heartbroken ten year old along with them, seeing how much the two girls cared for one another. But what about Ashton? The Mullers didn't want more than was said, and Emily had to reluctantly decline. There was no way she could leave her brother. She wouldn't; not for anything.

Emily had watched the car drive all the way down the street, Ashton's arms wrapped around her as she cried.

Jennifer didn't even get the chance to meet Penelope.

Both girls had given her their addresses and she had given hers to them, promising one another that they would write to each other every chance they got. Emily had immediately sent letters to each of them, tear marks staining the pages as she wrote how much she missed them and wished she could see them.

Only Penelope had written her back. And she wasn't even gone yet.

Emily bit her lip as she laid herself down, her head resting on her pillow as she thought of Jennifer's picture with her new siblings on the mess hall wall that the Mullers had sent to Ms. Higgins with a letter, thanking her for giving them 'the missing piece of their puzzle'.

The brunette just shook her head, her tears leaking onto the pillow beneath her as she tried her hardest to fall asleep. Jennifer had promised to be there for her and keep her nightmares from coming back.

She lied.


End file.
